Heavy Metal Memorabilia To Be Auctioned Off

The first major public auction ever conducted of heavy metal music memorabilia will be held November 6 at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City and online in conjunction with Julien Entertainment.

"The sale includes original album cover artwork, handwritten lyrics and musical instruments from Metallica, Anthrax and other heavy metal groups. Many of the Metallica items are from the collection of Jon Zazula, founder of Megaforce Records," said Darren Julien, President of Julien Entertainment of West Hollywood, California.

The sale contains over 100 auction lots of awards, instruments, lyrics, artwork and documents from artists such as Alice Cooper, Anthrax, Guns N' Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Kiss and many others. This historic offering gives fans an opportunity to obtain a piece of heavy metal music history from one of their favorite bands.

"Hard Rock Cafe was built on ground-breaking music, and we are thrilled to host the first-ever heavy metal memorabilia auction," said Don Bernstine, Hard Rock Cafe Manager of Acquisitions/Artist Relations. "The Hard Rock has the world's greatest collection of rock 'n' roll memorabilia, so we are a natural venue for this historic event that gives music fans the chance to own these artifacts that helped develop a new genre of music."

Auction highlights include:

* The original album covers artwork for Metallica's 1986 "Master of Puppets" (pre-sale estimate of $5,000 to $7,000);

* A Guild electric bass guitar played by Cliff Burton, an early Metallica member who was killed in a 1986 bus accident ($7,000 to $9,000);

* Handwritten lyrics by Burton and Metallica founder Lars Ulrich to songs recorded on the group's first album, "Kill 'Em All", in 1983 ($1,000 to $3,000);

* An original Metallica 1983 early "No Life 'Til Leather" demo cassette tape recorded in Jon Zazula's New York-area home ($2,000 to $3,000);